Energy Management
Monitoring and managing energy consumption.
Why it matters
Energy sits in three places at once: an operating cost, an asset performance signal, and a disclosure obligation. Treating it only as a bill misses the other two.
- It is a controllable cost: Consumption follows how assets are operated, which is a decision rather than a given.
- It is a condition signal: A pump drawing more power for the same duty is telling you something before it fails.
- It is reportable: Emissions and energy disclosure requirements are tightening, and they need auditable data, not estimates.
The workflow
- 01
Metering
Consumption measured at a level where a decision can act on it, not just at the site boundary.
- 02
Baseline
Normal consumption established against output, weather and operating pattern.
- 03
Monitoring
Actual against baseline, with variance investigated rather than noted.
- 04
Analysis
Consumption attributed to assets, processes and sites.
- 05
Action
Operating changes, maintenance or capital investment prioritised on return.
- 06
Reporting
Cost, consumption and emissions reported on the same data.
Normalise before you compare. Consumption that rose ten percent while output rose fifteen is an improvement, and a report that shows only the rise will be argued with rather than acted on.
What you need in place
- Sub-metering where decisions are made: Site-level data supports no action.
- A normalised baseline: Against production, occupancy or weather as appropriate.
- Attribution to assets: So energy joins maintenance and performance data.
- Tariff awareness: Peak demand charges often exceed consumption charges; shifting load is cheaper than reducing it.
- An audit trail for reported figures: Disclosure data needs the same rigour as financial data.
Questions to ask
01Granularity
Can we attribute consumption to an asset or process?
If only to a site, no operational decision follows.
02Baseline
Normalised against what?
Raw comparison invites dispute and inaction.
03Demand charges
What share of cost is peak demand rather than consumption?
Often the larger half, and the easier to change.
04Reporting
Would our disclosed figures survive audit?
Estimated data is increasingly not acceptable.
05Action
What changed as a result of last year's data?
Monitoring without action is a reporting exercise.
Metrics and KPIs to track
Energy intensity
Consumption per unit of output or per square metre.
Variance to baseline
Actual against normalised expectation.
Peak demand
Against contracted capacity and charge thresholds.
Cost per unit
Blended rate, trended against market.
Emissions
Reported against target, on auditable data.
Alongside this